cancel
Showing results forย 
Search instead forย 
Did you mean:ย 

Bear Spray

pulpwood007
Explorer
Explorer
This may not be the best place on the forum to ask this question, but could anyone suggest a particular brand of bear spray. I have a trip to Yellowstone scheduled and would like to purchase a can before leaving home.

While we don't do remote hiking anymore, I would still feel better about having some kind of defense should a bear accidentally appear. I'm sure there are some brands better than others.
41 REPLIES 41

Thermoguy
Explorer II
Explorer II
I've been to Yellowstone a few times. Once I even saw a bear. The last time I went looking for bear but never saw one. Although I've never hiked miles off the main trails so probably the reason I have never seen one. I would say in Yellowstone unless you are planning some good hikes, you won't have a need for bear spray. The only bear I have seen is from the car.

We sent to Glacier this past summer and that is different, there is nothing to really see from the road so you have to get out and hike to enjoy the park. We bought the 2 pack at Costco before our trip, sold locally as well as in MT. Still have some that I will keep in our trailer just in case. But, didn't need it. There was a bear sighting on one of the trails we hiked but long gone by the time we got there. Barely saw any animals on the Glacier trip, just lots of squirrels.

Bear spray is a good idea, and you should know how to use it. But in Yellowstone I think it is only necessary if you plan to hike outside the main attractions and busy areas. I don't even recall if I have ever seen people carrying bear spray in Yellowstone unlike Glacier where many people carry it.

NatParkJunkie
Explorer III
Explorer III
you can also get a can of inert practice bear spray to learn how to use it without the pepper spray in the can. Just make sure you take the live one on your hike. ๐Ÿ™‚
inert bear spray

Lwiddis
Explorer II
Explorer II
Buy quality. Stay safe!
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad

ssthrd
Explorer
Explorer
PA12DRVR wrote:
If you need bear spray, exceptionally unlikely, but if you do, you need to have tried it to know how to use it.


Second that. If you are close enough to an aggressive bear to have to use it, you wanna do more than just p**s him off.
2014 Keystone Laredo 292RL
2013 Palomino Maverick 2902
2018 GMC 3500HD, 4x4, 6.5' box, SRW, Denali, Duramax, Andersen
DeeBee, JayBee, and Jed the Black Lab

The hurrier I go the behinder I get. (Lewis Carroll)

wguss
Explorer
Explorer
Last I heard you could rent bear spray for one or multiple days from kiosks around the park. Might be a consideration if you're not needing it for more than a visit or two as it does expire.

Lwiddis
Explorer II
Explorer II
"Watching bison throw people 20 feet in the year may be a Montana form of entertainment, but I'm pretty sure it isn't pleasant for the human involved. But hey,"

It is entertainment in Southern California too.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad

PA12DRVR
Explorer
Explorer
Last went to Yellowstone in '18. Saw a gentleman confuse himself with Rambo as he ventured out of the hotel at Mammoth Hot Springs to run across the street to the Post Office....bear spray in one hand, air horn in the other, looking both ways for bear. Knew he was looking both ways for bear because he almost ran into a bison. Sheesh!

If you're not hiking "off-trail", IMNSHO, even if you are, the best bear deterrent is in your head. Being bear aware is better than any other deterrent.

It's super convenient to get bear spray in the park or surrounding communities. I'd second the earlier suggestion...go to a nearby Costco, buy two containers and use one for practice. If you need bear spray, exceptionally unlikely, but if you do, you need to have tried it to know how to use it.
CRL
My RV is a 1946 PA-12
Back in the GWN

Grit_dog
Navigator
Navigator
Boon Docker wrote:


Ha! Beat me to it!
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

pulpwood007
Explorer
Explorer
wapiticountry wrote:
Yellowstone averages about 1 bear attack per year. It also averages close to 4 million visitors each year. I suggest you buy a lottery ticket at the same time you buy the bear spray. That would insure that you are covered should your luck swing to the very end of either side of the luck bell curve.


That's the kicker. We are not doing any backwoods hiking, and will probably be around the masses most all the time. Maybe a few well traveled trails.

When I was younger I'd be in all for some backpacking, but now it's more of a sightseeing trip. Probably the only time I might need spray is if I step outside the trailer at night.

I have watched the videos of folks doing very stupid things around bison. Can't figure out why they are so fascinating. I've seen them all over the country and they are dirty, stupid, mean animals. Certainly not something anyone should want to get close to.

wapiticountry
Explorer
Explorer
Yellowstone averages about 1 bear attack per year. It also averages close to 4 million visitors each year. I suggest you buy a lottery ticket at the same time you buy the bear spray. That would insure that you are covered should your luck swing to the very end of either side of the luck bell curve.

Kavoom
Explorer
Explorer
bobsallyh wrote:
Pick up a can somewhere in West Yellowstone, YNP it's self, or a sporting goods store when get near YNP. They are priced fixed from what I have seen and when I bought a can. Forget branding. You can also rent in YNP.


Hit a Costco in Western MT. Two for one price... One to practice, one to use. They will charge you 40 bucks in the park or surrounding area...for one. They all are about the same.

Hit Amazon for a small handheld boat horn https://www.amazon.com/Seachoice-46211-1-5OZ-Signal-Horn/dp/B001B3DEN0/ref=asc_df_B001B3DEN0/?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=&hvpos=&hvnetw=o&hvrand=&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584070147615899&psc=1

You want a defense in depth with them. The best defense is to travel with someone slower than you you don't particularly care for...but...If you see one that displays any interest in you whatsoever, blow the boathorn at them, quick short. Use your unfavored hand e.g. left if you are a righty...

If they move closer, longer and short bursts. This will make them at least stop for a moment and make their ears go back... That buys you time if it doesn't make them turn around and go. The time should be used so you can unlimber your bear spray with your favored hand instead of trying to get to it in a panic... Learn how to flip off the plastic trigger protector with one hand. Keep it pointed away from you.

IF, they keep coming, make sure you are upwind from them...move slowly and away so the wind is at your back relative to the bear. Do NOT run. That triggers them... They move like lightning when they want to and can outrun the fastest man by double his speed. Most of the time unless you trigger their chase reflex or come up unexpectedly close...they will come carefully and not superfast toward you but most the time they don't want to have anything to do with you.

Keep using the boat horn until they have made it perfectly clear that isn't going to stop them. If they stop and huff and sort of jump up and down on their front legs, it is a warning. If they just keep coming, you got a problem. Drop the boat horn. Aim the bear spray. (Be sure to try the bear spray out before you go into bear country so you know how far it shoots and how it spreads out. That will help you judge the most opportune time to use. It generally stops them in their tracks at least at first. It takes guts to stand while they move quickly toward you, but that is your only hope.

Now, at this point, I usually also ensure that I can get my hands on my handgun (Ruger Alaskan). I will make a decision later on whether to use it on me or the bear... I have seen too many emergency room pics that are frankly horrifying... We used to have to give rabies prophylaxis recommendations for victims.

Now that you are really concerned, remember, 90% of the time, they know you are there and will hear you first and you will never see them. Most of the rest of the times, you will see them far away across the side of a mountain. Do NOT attract their attention if you have a choice. Curiosity can lead to a predatory assessment on their part... You do not want to be a part of that equation at all if you can help it. So, get behind a rock, bush, trees and take your pictures without noise. At all times keep at least a couple of football fields between you and them and NEVER take your eyes off them.

I have been the subject of their interest on two occasions. The boat horn worked both times. One much less than one football field... They supposedly are NOT in my mountains (Elkhorns) but that pic one of my neighbors showed me of a place less then three miles from my house last summer sure wasn't a black bear. We had fish wildlife and parks put one of the wheeled barrel traps in my neighbors yard/acreage here a few years ago.

Montana is the last best place. I kind of like not being the top predator. It keeps you on your toes in a subtle way you don't get anywhere else in the continental US. And, do not underestimate mountain lions either... How about a 150 lb kitty cat with claws the size of your small finger. My friend (late 60's) hurt his knee on a hike within a mile of our neighborhood. He was limping. He sat down on a rock and looked up at one in a tree getting in that ready to pounce mode... He yelled and screamed and waved his walking stick and it ran... It was likely tracking him for quite awhile. It recognized his limp as a weakness. Dogs and small children are viewed as snacks. AND, otters are not cute little animals. They enjoy killing dogs who swim in to play with them and then go after the humans coming in to try and save the dogs... Yep, rabies prophylaxis every time...and dead dogs...

AND PLEASE, don't try to pet anything. Watching bison throw people 20 feet in the year may be a Montana form of entertainment, but I'm pretty sure it isn't pleasant for the human involved. But hey, NO rabies prophylaxis for that one unless he bites you... Mostly they just gore you...

QCMan
Nomad III
Nomad III
On a side note, large containers of bear spray are allowed into Canada and any that could be concealed are not. Apparently they are saying that a lot of pepper spray is ok but a little isn't.

2020 Keystone Cougar 22RBS, Ram 1500, two Jacks and plenty of time to roam!
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits. A.E.
Good Sam Life Member

Boon_Docker
Explorer III
Explorer III

kwplot34
Explorer
Explorer
While out and about keep an eye out for Bear poop, it's easy to identify. It has little bells in it and smells like bear spray.

Tal_IL
Explorer
Explorer
This looks like pretty good source of info on bear spray:
Bear Safety tips / Be Bear Aware
35 miles from Normal, IL. As close to normal as I'll ever be.

2006 Country Coach Inspire Genoa 40ft